Xpressions

Season is great and the beaches are so inviting. So we decided to take this Bondi-Coogee coastal walk which goes through some of the most famous and beautiful beaches of Sydney. The walk starts from Bondi beach which is easily accessible by public transport - a train till Bondi junction and a short bus ride from there to the beach. We reached Bondi by 9am in the morning. It was nice and calm and after a bit of fooling around on the beach, we started the walk which is well defined by sign boards. During the spring season each year around September, the first part of this walk from Bondi to Tamarama hosts a seaside gallery called Sculptures by the sea. It's one more reason to head to the beaches and take this nice walk. From Bondi the route goes to Tamarama - another nice beach followed by yet another beach - Bronte. From Bronte, there are steep steps leading from the rock pool towards the clifftop broad walk. From here you get some of the most stunning views of the Bondi-Tamar...

Jenolan caves is a must visit location near Sydney. It's close to blue mountains, so can be combined with the blue mountain visit. These caves are a beautiful natural wonder which is amazing to look at. There are multiple caves to visit and depending on your time, you can decide on which ones to visit. For the more adventurous, there are tours which include going in the caves without lights and exploring caves which can be accessed only by crawling inside.Caution for claustrophobic people - best to go for open caves or chose a cave which can be explored in a short duration. My trip - We started from Sydney early morning and took our first halt at Katoomba for some fresh breakfast. From there we took a short detour to the 3 sisters for photo ops. Back on our way to Jenolan and reached there by 1pm - I would suggest to come to Jenolan directly if you want to see more than 1 caves. Due to limited time and cave tour timings, we were able to accommodate only a sing...

Sydney seems to be just waking up after the holiday season. Everybody still seems to be in the holiday mood. Weather's great .. it's supposed to be best time of the year .. :) We headed to this beach called Dee why which is on the northern side of Sydney city .... totally loved it. Walked on the beach and watched the surfers with their boards and parachutes dotting the skyline. There were holiday makers all around, kids eating ice creams, playing on the skate boards, the cafe's overflowing with people. Was a nice evening to linger in the holiday season for sometime more ..

Was really excited about this trip as it was our first trip outside of Sydney. And secondly because it was our first trip in our new car. Yay! We planned a 2 night-3 days trip over the long weekend of labor day holiday. We had booked our accomodation with Youth Hostel(YHA), Canberra. I love YHA - awesome location, affordable prices and very good facilities. Parliament house as seen from  War memorial Canberra - the capital city of Australia - a remarkable and very well laid out city, is around 300kms south of sydney. In Oct, spring season of australia, Canberra hosts the spring festival of Floriade. It's a 100% must see event if you are visting the country during the spring season. War Memorial Day-1: We started from Sydney early in the morning - it's about 4 hrs drive to Canberra. Spring + holiday = great mood .. :) After a few re-fuelling stops for both the car as well as the passengers, we reached Canberra by 11am mid morning. We visited War memorial in the aft...

Hawksburry River is a charming picnic spot with magnificent natural scenery and the river at the backdrop. It's most popular for fishing and sailing and you can see lots of private owned boats arriving and leaving on a trailer after a day at the bay. The river side is surrounded by park area and has picnic benches and child play areas as well as some cafes and open barbecue facilities. Leisurely walk around the river and a picnic lunch. Peace all around .. :)

Archibald Fountain Hyde park is a beautiful patch of fresh green right in the midst of Sydney CBD. With weather heading towards great, we headed out to have a relaxed day at this park. Nearest station is either Museum or Wynyard. From Wynyard there runs a free CBD shuttle which drops you right outside the park. Captain Cook It's a nice walk in the park with the Archibald fountain in the center and the palm avenue - more like a large lane with palm trees on both sides. There is also this pool of reflections which actually puts you in an introspective mood. Also came across the statue of the famous captain cook! And coming to the best part - the hyde park cafe right outside the park. Some coffee and muffins (and i wonder where all that weight comes from .. ) after a great walk in the park just gave it a perfect ending. Hyde Park Palm avenue St. Mary's Cathedral Pool of reflections

Sydney is famous for it's beach lifestyle. There are many beaches along the Sydney coastline. The famous among them being the Bondi and Manly. Although it's nearing the end of winters, the weather is never too bad for some time at the sea in Sydney. Manly beach is best visited by the ferry from Circular Quay. The walk from the Manly wharf to the Beach takes just about 5-10 mins and passes through the high street market kind of area of Manly. The beach is good for a walk or a swim. Mostly famous for surfing but that's some serious business and would love to learn to surf someday .. Apart from surfing, there is also kayaking which is another thing on my top to-do lists of all time .. :) The area around the beach has many eating options, options to just laze around or do a bit of shopping. Had a great day outdoors enjoying some sun and sea. Walking along the beach, eating at the high street and shopping at street markets. Next time I'm coming in the summers with s...

Had a whale of a time .. at whale watching Sydney .. :) It's that time of the year when the whales are on their north-wards migration probably due to winters in the southern hemisphere. They travel just a few kilometers off the coast of Sydney and are a treat to watch. Though the biggest of the species weigh somewhere between 40-50 tons, the ones we saw were the hatchback whales which are between 20-25 tons. They are really huge and from the cruise boat although quite far could be seen very clearly. The exhalation of water through blowholes that the whales do can actually be seen like a small fountain right in the middle of the ocean. It is always followed by the huge animal showing itself up and the famous pectoral fin which it flaps in the water just before going in for a long time below water. It was a treat to see these huge creatures. The weather was great, the views amazing. We were even able to spot dolphins. Coming up and going back in the water in their trademark st...

Lights show at Opera House It feels really different to have winter in May .. :) But the climate in Sydney is really beautiful. So even in winters we have sunny days which really feel great. Another event we were looking forward to was Vivid Sydney - the festival of lights, music and ideas. The main venue for this is the Opera House and the area around it. The preparations start about a week in advance. They have huge light installations along the Rocks. The buildings in CBD also participate in this with their own installations and idea exchange forums. There are many music shows as well lined up during this event at various venues around Sydney. Custom House Color changing light panels The main attractions this year were the 'Move your Building' installation at the Custom House. This had a digital projection over the whole building with music. There were few specific themes during which the music and the projection played in sync to create an illusion...